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Pronunciation

How to pronounce “despite”

“despite” is pronounced /dɪˈspaɪt/ (di-SPYT) in American English and /dɪspaɪt/ in British English — 2 syllables, stressed on “spaɪt”.
The sound

Say “despite” in 2 beats

Say it like this

despite

/dɪˈspaɪt/

The voice you hear here is American; the British form is /dɪspaɪt/ (see the table below), and a British voice is available in the app's settings.

2 beats
  1. dɪdɪ
  2. spaɪtspaɪtstress
IPA (American)
/dɪˈspaɪt/
IPA (British)
/dɪspaɪt/
Respelling
di-SPYT
Syllables
2 — dɪ-SPAꞮT
Stress
Stress the second syllable: dɪ-SPAꞮT. “spaɪt” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.
Part of speech
noun
Difficulty
Beginner — most learners get this on the first take
Accents

American and British are not the same here

American

/dɪˈspaɪt/

British

/dɪspaɪt/

No audio here: sayit’s voice is American, so a British button would play the American word. Read the transcription instead.

Meaning

What “despite” means

  1. noun

    lack of respect accompanied by a feeling of intense dislike

    “he was held in contempt”

  2. noun

    contemptuous disregard

    “she wanted neither favor nor despite”

Say it in a sentence

“We went ahead despite the rain and the missing tent poles.”
Sound by sound

The sounds inside this word

6 sounds, in the order you say them
ddɪshort issppaɪlong itt

Each sound has its own page: where the tongue goes, what it is usually confused with, and words to drill it on.

Questions

“despite”, answered

How do you pronounce “despite”?

“despite” is pronounced /dɪˈspaɪt/ (di-SPYT) in American English and /dɪspaɪt/ in British English — 2 syllables, stressed on “spaɪt”. Build it as dɪ-SPAꞮT, then run the second syllable a little longer than the rest and let the others reduce.

How many syllables does “despite” have?

2: dɪ · spaɪt. The beat lands on the second, “spaɪt”.

Is “despite” said differently in British English?

Yes. American English says /dɪˈspaɪt/ (di-SPYT); British English says /dɪspaɪt/. Both are correct — choose the accent you are learning and stay inside it.

What does “despite” mean?

As a noun: lack of respect accompanied by a feeling of intense dislike For example: “he was held in contempt” It carries 1 other sense as well — all of them said the same way.

Where is the stress in “despite”?

Stress the second syllable: dɪ-SPAꞮT. “spaɪt” is longer, louder and a step higher; the other syllable falls away from it.

Practise this word

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